Using Superbraids, with a wire leader, or without?

Weather you use wire leaders or you don’t weather you love them or hate them, it doesn’t matter but there is a lot of discussion out there about leaders, when to use them, when they are helpful or a hindrance, what style to use.


I personally almost never use a wire leader; I only use them when I absolutely must. Its not because of the fish but because of the lure. The primary reason that I stopped using wire leaders is that superbraid lines are good enough that I don’t need one.


Many people argue with me about this, but I feel that I get better action out of lures without leaders, spend less time and money on terminal tackle and I have a better hook up rates.
I am fishing for Northern Pike, Musky and Walleye on 50 lb test superbraid lines without a wire leader. I do remove the first 15 inches of my line more often than I like but I still get a good season out of each of my spools, usually 2 seasons. The reason that I initially started fishing without leaders was because I couldn’t find leaders flexible enough for crank baits, spoons and spinnerbaits.



In my local sporting goods stores there are two kinds of leaders, Cheap solid leaders and cheap multiple wire leaders. I found that when I bought a pack of ten leaders I was getting an average of 14 Pike before they were toast, solid, or multi wire. I could have 50 wire leaders in my tackle box on Friday and have none on Monday. This was expensive so I stopped tying them on in water that I rarely caught Pike over 10 lbs.

I found that I could catch 5 average Pike before my line was starting to fray even a little. Very rarely does my line fray or show wear more than 3 inches from my swivel or lure. I simply remove the frayed section and continue fishing.
It may or may not work for you, but most of my peers are now converted to leaderless lines.

I will admit there are lures that work better with a leader, such as big jerkbaits and topwater baits. Solid leaders work well with these as they do not tangle in the hooks.

This article does not apply to persons using Monofilament Lines or Fluorocarbon Lines.